Ana Mota, a 17-year-old senior at South Grand Prairie High School in Texas, loves theater. She has played big and small roles in school productions: Miss Honey in “Matilda,” Annie in “The Play That Goes Wrong,” a prisoner in “Dark Road” and an ensemble member in “Chicago.”
This month, as she was applying to collegiate acting programs, she was cast to play the lead in a production of “Little Shop of Horrors.” That’s Seymour Krelborn, a nebbishy flower shop assistant.
Mota, who is female, says this was not the first time she had been cast as a male character. That dynamic is not uncommon in school productions because often more girls audition than boys. Mota had played Jack in “Into the Woods,” as well as Pinocchio in “Pinocchio Commedia.” She expected to play Seymour as a man, as is required for licensed productions of the musical.
But then officials in her school district overturned the casting decision, fearing it ran afoul of a new state law that, among other things, restricts teaching about gender identity. So this week, Mota filed suit in federal court, accusing her school district of illegal sex discrimination — essentially, denying her educational opportunities because she is female.
“It’s not right,” Mota said in a phone interview. “My directors thought I was the best for the role, and put me in the role because I auditioned well, not for any other ulterior motive. And me portraying a male character isn’t something that should be considered controversial because it’s been done in theater for years.”
At the time of the cancellation, the school district, southwest of Dallas, cited the romantic relationship between Seymour and Audrey, the main female character, as well as an abusive relationship portrayed in the show as reasons to stop the production. It also said the decision “was made in light of the district’s ongoing effort to ensure its programs remain consistent with Senate Bill 12 and all applicable law.”
Senate Bill 12, variously described as a parental rights measure or an identity censorship law, was the measure Texas passed last year that limits teaching about gender identity, bars schools from assisting with gender transitions and restricts diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The Texas law was passed at a time when multiple states were considering, or enacting, legislation to roll back diversity initiatives and combat what the Trump administration has called “gender ideology.” The measure’s constitutionality is being challenged in court.
The Grand Prairie lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argues that the school district violated Title IX, a federal law that bars sex discrimination in education.
“This is her last year in school, and she’s been deprived of an opportunity that would have really been a challenge for her in terms of honing her stagecraft and her acting art,” said her lawyer, Jonathan Winocour.
The school district declined to comment, and has not yet filed a response in court.
“Because this has now gone to litigation, we have no statement at this time,” Sam Buchmeyer, the public information officer for the Grand Prairie Independent School District, said by email.
The lawsuit argues that none of those provisions apply in Mota’s situation.
“Ana Mota is not transgender and was not engaged in any personal gender transition,” the lawsuit says. “She was portraying a scripted fictional character in an official school theatrical production — a centuries-old theatrical tradition.”
After South Grand Prairie High School reversed its decision to have Mota play Seymour, it offered to let her share the show’s main female role, Audrey, with another student. Mota declined.
“She had not auditioned for or been selected to play Audrey,” the lawsuit says, “she did not wish to displace another student, and she wished to preserve the casting decision reached through the audition process.”
Howard Sherman, a longtime critic of restrictions on school theater productions, said the Texas case was an important one.
“We have watched as, in various states, there have been a variety of efforts to put restrictions on what students can and can’t learn, can and can’t read, and this is such a preposterous example,” he said. “When these things arrive, they have to be challenged.”
The school has decided to replace “Little Shop of Horrors” with a production of “Frozen.” While Mota hopes the court will order the school to reinstate “Little Shop,” with her as Seymour, she also says she will audition for “Frozen.”
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